Building construction



Get; 14, 1941. I s. G. MEEK 2,258,955

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed April 20, 1939 INVENTOR 572/9197 Mes/r.

ATTO R N EY UMJQ Patented Oct. 14, 1941- 2,258,955 BUHDIN G CONSTRUCTION Stuart G. Meek, Larc Johnshmont, N. Y, assignor to anville Corporation, New

York, my

a corporation of New York Application April 20, 1939, Serial No.

7 Claims. (Cl. 98-121) to building con- 7 The present invention relates structions, particularly of' the masonry type,

and to a. louver structure employed therein.

The invention is especially applicable tostrucmes such as ventilating towers or buildings, the walls 'of which are providedwith intake openings through which large quantities "of air are drawn for ventilating purposes, asforv ex; ample; for the, supply of ventilating airt yehic'ular tunnels' and theulike. LA {principal object of ported,-as will hereinafter the finvention is the provision oi louver-ed air-intakes of an improved construction for referred to? Anotl'ier object of-the invention is" the provioffa lowered-structure in which louver bladesffof a hardened compressed cemen'titious material are set in-the structurefproperr A further object of the invention is the proviv escribed above'in which 1 ouver blades are removably but securely unintentional jdisplace sio'nj of a .structure as d the Ll held in position against ment.v

A" son iurtherbbjec't. of the invention is "a,

towers or: buildings of the type V masonry 1 .th w ll? louver construction :for ventilating'towers, build ings or the-like. appfleara'nce. a

My},' mvention will be :more fully understood andr furtherhobjects and advantages thereof will is made'tothe "tailed ;description thereof which to become apparent. when reference the '2 accompanying drawing partial elevational view wit f a -building. and louver .isa sectionaliview taken on th Fig. dis a detail secti scaletaken on they line 4-4 of 2; and

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view. a portion of the instant invention.

lei-sectional view taken on the line illustrating:

which presents an improved i r .i .ti ci-: -1.: tion in accordancegwith' the present invention; 6 li Z'Z onal view on an enlarged Referring now to the drawing-and particularly V to Figs. v1 and 2, the inven'tion is depicted-as embodied in a building structure such as a.

ventilating tower or the like. Suitably, the building is formed generally of any conventional. type of concrete or masonry construction including a brick or other ornamental facing as shown at l0. It will be understood that any of the known building constructions may be employed. The walls of the building or tower define open- 2, 4 and 5).

generally at I2, serving as the air-intake for the ventilating air drawn into the .tower and distributed to the tunnel or which the ventilating The spaces or'air-inta'ke ings or areas indicated employed.

openings are formed as a. series of louvers defined by louver blades indicatedgenerally at -|4,.sup'- may. ,s ens tor building. s

aracter may be:

i any desired {ch conventional 'm'a employed inaby' the blades I4. understood that I particular cornice structure 'form' no part or the instant invention. 7 t

In accordance with the present invention, the

air is admitted are- 20 "extending-.-- the nia' w louversthrough. which the defined by louver posts or jambs ver'tically .of, and suitably inset in, walls. of, the opening-l2 and inclu faces 22 :between which extendthe (4. The-louveryposts are suitabl ding. opposed.

The 1 ouver'-posts' blade receiving-slots 24 (see particularly Figs.

end 25 forming an abutment for of the. louver blade.

may be employed composition. of the composition of the fibres to 100 asbestos-cement proportions of the material may be, say, 25 to 70 parts ner behind the g V It Will be the screen structure and the' louver-blades g y constructed 20 are brovidedwith louver Q The slots Ztextend from the rear the lowerrend- The slots arepreferably} parts of the total mixture. The slabs are im pregnated either during or after their formation with a moisture-resistant composition such as asphalt or the like. Suitably, asphalt, having a melting point of 115 to 125 F. as determined by the ring and ball method and a penetration of between 45 and 60 as determined by standard penetration tests, is employed as the impregnating material. The slabs forming the louver blades may be of any suitable thickness as required for the particular installation, but, for example, it may be stated that blades approximately in thickness are satisfactory where the length of the blade is to be, say 4 to 5' or greater.

The louver blades are secured within the slots 24 of the louver posts 20 in a manner to prevent loosening or rattling of the blades under the action of high winds or the like, and at the same time, to permit their removal as may be required from time to time. The means for securing the blades is most particularly disclosed in Figs. 4 and 5 and comprises a packing element 26 wrapped around the ends of the blade inserted within the slots and a yieldable caulking composition 28 filling the spaces between the ends of the blades and the slot walls. Suitably. the packing member. .26 is formed of a tubular asbestos material in flattened form. Thecaulking material may comprise any suitable composition conventionally employed for similar purposes which adheres well to the composition of the blades and the louver posts, but which does not becc::le unduly hard or crack over an extended periodof service.

In forming the louver construction of the invention after the masonry work is completed and the louver posts 20 cemented in position, the slots are coated with the caulking compound 28 and the ends of the blades are wrapped with one thickness of the asbestos tubing 26 and pressed carefully into the slots and leveled to true position. The remaining spaces in the slots are then filled with the caulking compound which is forced tightly into the grooves.

The present invention provides a louver 'struc-'- ture in which the louver blades are securely maintained in proper position within the masonry walls of the openings I! to form, in effect, a continuation of the masonry structure. The blades are highly resistant to destruction or damage over long periods of exposure to the weather, due both to the hardened, highly compressed, asbestoscement material of which they are composed and to the yleldable manner in which they are secured within the slots of the louver posts as previously described. The material of which the louver blades are formed, furthermore, renders the same resistant ,to the corrosive action of smoke and other fumes. Also, the louver construction presents an attractive appearance and does not require the use of metal fiashings or other extraneous elements as have been previously necessary where louvers of conventional types have been used.

Having thus described my invention in rather full detail, it will be understood that these details need not be strictly adhered to, but that various changes and modifications will suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, all falling within the'scope of the invention as defined by the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. A building construction comprising spaced louver posts of a masonry material defining an opening therebetween, slots in said posts extending from a side edge substantially across opposed faces thereof, louver blades comprising a hardened asbestos-cement composition including end portions inserted in opposed of said slots, a resilientpacking material extending between said blades and the walls of said slots, and a caulking composition substantially filling the remaining space within said slots.

2. A building construction comprising spaced louver posts defining an opening therebetween, slots in said posts extending substantially across opposed faces thereof, and louver blades comprising a hardened asbestos-cement composition impregnated with a bituminous waterproofing composition including end portions inserted in opposed of said slots;

3. A louver construction comprising louver posts of a ceramic building material defining an opening between opposed faces thereof, said faces including slots extending from a side edge downwardly and substantially across said faces, louver blades comprising a hardened compressed asbestos-cement composition extending in parallel relationship across said opening and having end portions inserted in opposed of said slots, and a resilient packing material between said end portions and the walls of the slots.

4. A louver construction comprising louver posts of a, ceramic building material defining an opening between opposed faces thereof, said faces including slots extending from a side edge down-,

wsrdly and substantially across said faces, louver blades comprising a hardened compressed asbestos-cement composition extending in parallel relationship across said opening and having end portions inserted in opposed of saidslots, a resilient packing material extending between the blade ends and the walls of the slots, and a yieldable caulking composition substantially filling the remaining space within said slots.

5. A louver construction comprising louver posts defining an opening between opposed faces thereof, said faces including slots extending from a. side edge substantially across said faces, said slots being dovetail in cross section, louver blades of a hardened compressed asbestos-cement composition extending in parallel relationship across said opening, and having end portions inserted in opposed of said slots, a resilient packing material extending between said end portions and the walls of the slots, and a caulking composition filling the remaining portion of said slots. Y

6. A louver blade for mounting in slots formed in opposed faces of louver posts, said blade comprising a slab of hardened, highly compressed, asbestos-cement composition containing a waterproofing impregnant.

7. A louver construction comprising spaced louver posts defining an opening between opposed faces thereof, said opposed faces having slots ex- 

